In a dramatic rescue, the County of Los Angeles Fire Department Aviation Unit hoists the driver from the crash site in a Sikorsky S-70A FIREHAWK. [Photo credit: KTLA News]

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LOUISVILLE, Ky., March 2, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sikorsky recognized the County of Los Angeles Fire Department today with Sikorsky Rescue Awards for five crew members involved with lifesaving efforts. Sikorsky President Dan Schultz presented the awards to Battalion Chief Joel Harrison in a ceremony at the 2016 Helicopter Association International Heli-Expo show. Sikorsky is a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT).

In a dramatic rescue and firefighting mission on Aug. 14, 2015, members of the Air Operations team, flying a Sikorsky S-70A FIREHAWK, extinguished a substantial brush fire. The blaze erupted after a pick-up truck veered off a freeway, tumbled down an embankment, and burst into flames in Simi Valley, a suburb close to Los Angeles. A rescuer, lowered by hoist, located and recovered the injured driver who had crawled up a water drain pipe to escape the flames. The crew flew the victim to a nearby hospital, where a full recovery was made.

"Our founder, Igor Sikorsky, envisioned the helicopter as a life-saving tool," said Nathalie Previte, Sikorsky Vice President, Sales & Marketing. "LA County is on the front lines each and every day as custodians of Igor's vision, meeting the critical demands of search and rescue in firefighting missions."

The S-70A FIREHAWK is a variant of the Sikorsky Black Hawk designed for firefighting, medical evacuation, and personnel transport. In 1957, the County of Los Angeles Fire Department became the first municipal organization to put a helicopter designed for firefighting into service. The County of Los Angeles Fire Department Aviation Unit currently has eight operational helicopters in their fleet, three of which are Sikorsky S-70A FIREHAWKs.

About Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin companySikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, based in Stratford, Connecticut, is a world leader in aircraft design, manufacture and service. Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that – with the addition of Sikorsky –employs approximately 126,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.